Questions surround UPS plan to move Paramus site to Woodland Park

By JULIET FLETCHER

STAFF WRITEr |

The Record

It’s clear that United Parcel Service stands to receive more than $6 million in tax incentives for keeping nearly 1,000 jobs in New Jersey despite planning to close its Paramus data processing center. Most everything else remains a mystery.

The state Economic Development Authority approved the $6.4 million in incentives Tuesday morning, noting UPS said it was considering relocating the 929 workers to Woodland Park. But officials in the affected towns weren’t given a heads-up, as is often the case.

EDA’s summary of the UPS application listed 385 Rifle Camp Road in Woodland Park — owned by the Bank of New York Mellon — as a possible new location, but on Wednesday the owners said the building is not on the market.

The EDA document says UPS is planning to close the Paramus operation at some unspecified date, but a company spokesman said Wednesday that it was considering upgrading the three buildings there. The EDA has awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks as it competes with similar agencies in other states to attract and retain jobs. But its documents are often skimpy on details, as it seeks to protect privileged information regarding business operations.

And because its agendas are available only the night before a meeting, the authority’s actions can come as a surprise, as Tuesday’s UPS approval did to Paramus Mayor Richard LaBarbiera.

“We had no idea,” he said Wednesday. LaBarbiera was sympathetic to UPS’ desire to consolidate its Paramus operation, which is split among three buildings.

“It was a good business decision for them. Unfortunately, it doesn’t help us, but one thing I’ve learned is that with every door that closes another one opens. We’ll work with whoever wants to get in there to fill the building as quickly as possible.

“Good jobs are staying in New Jersey but it’s unfortunate that Paramus in this case is on the losing end,” he said. “We’re surprised, and disappointed but we understand.”

Sen. Bob Gordon, D-Fair Lawn, whose district includes Paramus, said he is “always” notified in advance of something affecting his district, but not this time. And on Wednesday he was still in the dark.

“I have not received any notification, either from the company, the EDA or the governor’s office,” he said.

“We don’t want to impede a company from making decisions like this as long as there’s notice. And we don’t want to create artificial barriers to company operations, but we should be notified when something like this occurs.”

The EDA document said UPS was considering moving the Paramus operation to 385 Rifle Camp Road or “another new location” to be determined. But Bank of New York Mellon, which owns the six-story, 370,000-square-foot office building at that address, didn’t give any indication that it was in talks with UPS.

“Our property in Woodland Park is not on the market,” said Ron Gruendl, spokesman for Bank of New York Mellon. The building houses operations for the bank’s ClearTran unit, which provides electronic bill payment, electronic check, credit card and debit card processing services.

Gordon said the listing of the Rifle Camp Road address on the EDA application summary while its owners denied its availability raised questions about the application and the level of oversight by the state authority.

“How much scrutiny is the state agency providing [for] those applications?” Gordon said.

On Wednesday a UPS spokes¬man reiterated the company’s commitment to stay in New Jersey and played down application ¬paperwork that mentioned closing the Paramus site as “preliminary.”

“Right now, we’re exploring the possibility of upgrading or selling the Paramus facility,” said Susan Rosenberg, manager of public relations. “But no decisions have been made.” Although EDA has approved the incentives award, UPS still must accept it and meet certain goals — including a |more than $13 million capital investment — to receive the tax breaks, which amount to a reduction of the company’s corporate taxes.

“There is no determination other than we are committed to sustaining a strong presence in New Jersey,” she said.

Rosenberg’s statement appears at odds with the content of the application summary from EDA, which states that the company was willing to leave New Jersey if it did not receive the incentives package.

“The company has represented that a favorable decision by the authority to award the BRRAG [Business Retention and Relocation Assistance] grant is a material factor in the applicant’s decision to remain within New Jersey and hence not to relocate these jobs outside of the state,” the summary said. EDA said UPS submitted a cost benefit analysis “comparing the cost of comparable facilities in New Jersey and New York, the main competing state. Their alternative competing state is Georgia.” UPS headquarters are in Atlanta.

Michael Allen Seeve, president of the real estate company Mountain Development Corp. in Woodland Park, said that initially he was surprised to hear that UPS was possibly looking to come to the borough.

“It seems odd, because people didn’t think of that Bank of New York building as being actively marketed,” Seeve said.

“However, on the other hand, in a lot of respects I think it makes a lot of sense,” he said. “For companies like UPS that are in the logistics business, covering the whole region, Woodland Park is really a central location. On both sides of the mountain [Garret Mountain], you’ve got access to the region’s highway network.”

Mountain Development, which is headquartered at Garret Mountain Plaza, is the landlord of North Jersey Media Group, publisher of The Record.

The UPS Paramus buildings on Winters Avenue are listed as owned and managed by Martrac, according to CoStar, a commercial real estate information company. Martrac, a unit of UPS, couldn’t be reached for comment.

A visit to UPS’ Paramus campus, whose buildings contain no company markings visible from the street, on Wednesday afternoon showed no signs that anything could be changing; workers on break would not comment on the possible relocation. One directed questions to human resources.

Questions surround UPS plan to move Paramus site to Woodland Park

It’s clear that United Parcel Service stands to receive more than $6 million in tax incentives for keeping nearly 1,000 jobs in New Jersey despite planning to close its Paramus data processing center. Most everything else remains a mystery.

The state Economic Development Authority approved the $6.4 million in incentives Tuesday morning, noting UPS said it was considering relocating the 929 workers to Woodland Park. But officials in the affected towns weren’t given a heads-up, as is often the case.

EDA’s summary of the UPS application listed 385 Rifle Camp Road in Woodland Park — owned by the Bank of New York Mellon — as a possible new location, but on Wednesday the owners said the building is not on the market.

The EDA document says UPS is planning to close the Paramus operation at some unspecified date, but a company spokesman said Wednesday that it was considering upgrading the three buildings there. The EDA has awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks as it competes with similar agencies in other states to attract and retain jobs. But its documents are often skimpy on details, as it seeks to protect privileged information regarding business operations.

And because its agendas are available only the night before a meeting, the authority’s actions can come as a surprise, as Tuesday’s UPS approval did to Paramus Mayor Richard LaBarbiera.

“We had no idea,” he said Wednesday. LaBarbiera was sympathetic to UPS’ desire to consolidate its Paramus operation, which is split among three buildings.

“It was a good business decision for them. Unfortunately, it doesn’t help us, but one thing I’ve learned is that with every door that closes another one opens. We’ll work with whoever wants to get in there to fill the building as quickly as possible.

“Good jobs are staying in New Jersey but it’s unfortunate that Paramus in this case is on the losing end,” he said. “We’re surprised, and disappointed but we understand.”

Sen. Bob Gordon, D-Fair Lawn, whose district includes Paramus, said he is “always” notified in advance of something affecting his district, but not this time. And on Wednesday he was still in the dark.

“I have not received any notification, either from the company, the EDA or the governor’s office,” he said.

“We don’t want to impede a company from making decisions like this as long as there’s notice. And we don’t want to create artificial barriers to company operations, but we should be notified when something like this occurs.”

The EDA document said UPS was considering moving the Paramus operation to 385 Rifle Camp Road or “another new location” to be determined. But Bank of New York Mellon, which owns the six-story, 370,000-square-foot office building at that address, didn’t give any indication that it was in talks with UPS.

“Our property in Woodland Park is not on the market,” said Ron Gruendl, spokesman for Bank of New York Mellon. The building houses operations for the bank’s ClearTran unit, which provides electronic bill payment, electronic check, credit card and debit card processing services.

Gordon said the listing of the Rifle Camp Road address on the EDA application summary while its owners denied its availability raised questions about the application and the level of oversight by the state authority.

“How much scrutiny is the state agency providing [for] those applications?” Gordon said.

On Wednesday a UPS spokes¬man reiterated the company’s commitment to stay in New Jersey and played down application ¬paperwork that mentioned closing the Paramus site as “preliminary.”

“Right now, we’re exploring the possibility of upgrading or selling the Paramus facility,” said Susan Rosenberg, manager of public relations. “But no decisions have been made.” Although EDA has approved the incentives award, UPS still must accept it and meet certain goals — including a |more than $13 million capital investment — to receive the tax breaks, which amount to a reduction of the company’s corporate taxes.

“There is no determination other than we are committed to sustaining a strong presence in New Jersey,” she said.

Rosenberg’s statement appears at odds with the content of the application summary from EDA, which states that the company was willing to leave New Jersey if it did not receive the incentives package.

“The company has represented that a favorable decision by the authority to award the BRRAG [Business Retention and Relocation Assistance] grant is a material factor in the applicant’s decision to remain within New Jersey and hence not to relocate these jobs outside of the state,” the summary said. EDA said UPS submitted a cost benefit analysis “comparing the cost of comparable facilities in New Jersey and New York, the main competing state. Their alternative competing state is Georgia.” UPS headquarters are in Atlanta.

Michael Allen Seeve, president of the real estate company Mountain Development Corp. in Woodland Park, said that initially he was surprised to hear that UPS was possibly looking to come to the borough.

“It seems odd, because people didn’t think of that Bank of New York building as being actively marketed,” Seeve said.

“However, on the other hand, in a lot of respects I think it makes a lot of sense,” he said. “For companies like UPS that are in the logistics business, covering the whole region, Woodland Park is really a central location. On both sides of the mountain [Garret Mountain], you’ve got access to the region’s highway network.”

Mountain Development, which is headquartered at Garret Mountain Plaza, is the landlord of North Jersey Media Group, publisher of The Record.

The UPS Paramus buildings on Winters Avenue are listed as owned and managed by Martrac, according to CoStar, a commercial real estate information company. Martrac, a unit of UPS, couldn’t be reached for comment.

A visit to UPS’ Paramus campus, whose buildings contain no company markings visible from the street, on Wednesday afternoon showed no signs that anything could be changing; workers on break would not comment on the possible relocation. One directed questions to human resources.